Teens Now Vaping Marijuana in Record Numbers

In 2014 the word vape was added
to the Oxford dictionary after smoking e-cigarettes became trendy. Just a year
later, studies have proven that teens are jumping on the trend by using
e-cigarettes to 'smoke' marijuana.

A study conducted by
researchers at Yale University showed that teens have created ways to transform
e-cigarettes into high tech bongs for cannabis products.

According to ABC News, after surveying 3, 847
Connecticut high school students about their drug and e-cigarette use,
researchers found that students were using e-cigarettes to smoke cannabis more
than 27 times the rate of adults.

Of the 30
percent of students who said they had tried marijuana or hashish, 18 percent
had used an e-cigarette to "vape"
the drug.

"The rates were a little bit
surprising, especially in a state where it's illegal to sell e-cigarettes to
kids," said lead author Meghan Morean, an assistant professor of psychology at
Oberlin College in Ohio and adjunct assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale
School of Medicine. "They're using them at pretty considerable rates."

While marketing campaigns and
e-cigarette users often express that vaping is safer than smoking there have
been no scientific studies to back their claims. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration officials have said they plan to regulate electronic cigarettes
but have yet to announce regulations for the products which may explain the
mixed feelings of professionals in the scientific community.

Addiction specialist Dr. Christina
Delos Reyes, the program director for Addiction Psychiatry at University
Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland said, "I will say it's extremely
concerning to me as an addiction psychiatrist. I have had my own patients tell
me they're doing this."